Past Winners Reap Positive Effects on Business

(Page 1 of 1)

Winners of Mobile Electronics magazine’s Retailer and Installer of the Year awards know an opportunity when they see one. Though consumers may not instantly know what the recognition means, the recipients are glad to inform them through displays, marketing and promotions.

Thank you for calling Horizon Audio, voted No. 1 Retailer of the Year by Mobile Electronics magazine, 2006!”

That’s the message every caller to the Canton, Ohio, retailer hears after dialing the store’s main number. The award is also mentioned on the three-store chain’s Website.

“We promote it in all of our radio and print ads,” said Scott Ackerman, co-founder of Horizon, which won Retailer of the Year in the Medium / Large Chain category in 2005–’06. “And shirts—Alpine gave us about 60 shirts to have screen-printed, so we did that as well.”

For past winners of Mobile Electronics’ Retailer of the Year and Installer of the Year awards, the honor can amount to more than a photo in the magazine and a few calls of congratulations from friends within the industry. Those with a mind for marketing have found ways to roll the recognition into everything from local news coverage to the store’s official letterhead.

“We kind of make a big stink out of it,” said Cory Nani, service manager at Car Concepts. “We had a couple of copies of it made into plaques so we could put them in showrooms. We use it as a sales tool. It’s on our Website, we use it as part of our advertising campaign, in our radio campaign.”

For Car Concepts in Salt Lake City, Utah (Retailer of the Year, Single Store / Small Chain, 2005-’06), the award is just one more plaque to add to the store’s wall of MECP certificates and other various recognitions.

“We’ve got one section for things like national awards, and it’s something that our guys take the customers right to,” said Nani. “They use it right there while they’re in the sound room.”

As Mobile Electronics is an industry magazine, most consumers aren’t familiar with the award or what it stands for, said Nani. But that just gives him another opening for dialog with the customer.

“Not all our customers know what it is, so it requires a little explanation as to what the organization is and what they do,” he said. “Which is fine—we’re in the business of educating our customers anyway, so it’s one more opportunity to explain some things. But once we establish that recognition, that credibility of what the organization is, it obviously makes the award seem that much more impressive.”

Installers Use Credential To Convince High-End Clients

“I think the best thing about it was it showed continued growth, not resting on your laurels from five years back,” said Chris Yato, Installer of the Year for 2004–‘05. With sixteen years in the business, Yato has acquired a case full of “Best in Show” trophies for his creations. The IOTY award, he said, was a way to show that he’s still active.

“I’ve been doing it 16 years. Instead of fading off in the distance, it says hey, I’m still here.”

“It’s something to live up to,” said Luke Gray, Installer of the Year for 2005–’06. “You’ve got to turn it up a notch, because if anyone sees a little blemish on anything ... well, you know how it goes.”

When Gray returned home from receiving the award in Louisville, Ky., last spring, he contacted the local media, which featured him in a news article. He also said the award helped him land an appearance in an installation-themed TV show, a goal he’d been working toward since “Pimp My Ride”-style shows first became popular.

“I was able to do a part in a TV show for Octane TV,” he said. “Not sure when it’s going to air, but I’m working on a car for Tracy McGrady of the Houston Rockets. I think [the award] had something to do with it; maybe Installer of the Year gave me some credibility for that project. That TV deal may end up becoming something more permanent—I really don’t know at this point. But it was definitely cool to take part in.”

Most of all, said Gray, the recognition has given him a bit more credibility to prospective high-end clients as he tries to land their business.

“I’m dealing with some older people who are maybe not as accustomed to the car audio scene,” he said. “You’re working on a $100,000 street rod or a vehicle that someone put a lot of time and money into restoring. They have a lot more confidence in you when you can say, ‘Take a peek at this magazine.’ They say okay, maybe you can work on my $100,000 rod. They want to know that the car’s going to get taken care of. You can flash all the pictures you want, but if you have a credential like that, it makes a huge difference.”

Kicker Parent Stillwater Designs Buys SoundGate

Kicker manufacturer Stillwater Designs purchased interface maker SoundGate for an undisclosed amount in early September.

“We’ve known (SoundGate Co-Founder) Rob (Putman) for a lot of years, and when we’ve run into problems we’ve called him,” said Charlie Schultz, Stillwater’s VP of sales and marketing. “This goes back before he even owned his company, when he was at Crutchfield, when we were developing coaxes and mids and tweeters. He was real helpful with a lot of information. So we’ve kind of developed over the years a mutual respect and synergy.”

Stillwater said its intention to acquire SoundGate is to secure the ability to integrate Kicker systems into the new technologies available in cars today and into the future.

“The last two years, as you’ve watched what’s happened to head units, and you visit with our dealers, they’ll tell you not everybody is as anxious anymore to put a new head unit in,” Schultz said. “Then it leads to, ‘If I can’t change the radio, I’m stuck, I can’t upgrade my system.’

“Well, we know that’s not true, but the way to do that and the mind-share is not there. So our retailers are saying this is becoming more and more of a problem. At that point, we start thinking about who is the best person we know to do this kind of stuff, and it’s Rob Putman. We look at it as long-term—it’s part of our future. If we don’t do this, we’re going to be left in the dust.”

Schultz said Stillwater had no plans to change the distribution of either brand. “With Kicker, we’re a limited distribution company with our partners, whereas Soundgate is a little more open with their distribution, and we want to continue that.”

However, Stillwater plans to move SoundGate headquarters from Sheridan, Wyo., to its own HQ in Stillwater, Okla. SoundGate Founders Rob and Julie Putman will relocate with the company, but Schultz acknowledged that not all SoundGate associates may be able to join the move.

Vocational Trainer Brings Mobile Electronics, MECA to the Classroom

Like any other educator whose job it is to teach teens tough subjects like electronics, Chris Lipp has to constantly look for “the hook”—a way to present the material to the class that applies to their interests. Without the hook, it’s not going to stick.

“If you want to keep a 16-year-old’s attention, it has to have something to do with cars,” he said. Even better to combine cars with music.

Lipp’s school, the Daniel Morgan Technology Center in Spartanburg, S.C., serves the area’s public education system, offering specialized vocational training. When he was asked to teach the institute’s new electronics program, he figured he’d never fill the classrooms by teaching the material dry. But the school’s automotive instructor, Rick Griffin, suggested an idea: Mobile electronics. Lipp had his hook. Teach the basics of electronics in the context of car stereo and security.

“We’re teaching core-level electronics, but the main application we’re concentrating on to keep the kids interested is mobile electronics and car stereo installation, security system installation, and so on,” said Lipp. “The overall goal besides getting them interested in electronics is, maybe after the two-year program, they might take the basic-level MECP test. Maybe give them some skills either for when they go to college or to start a career, either way they want to do it.”

To draw even more interest, Lipp decided to take it a step further. After a meeting with MECA Commissioner Steve Stern at a fall competition at the Spartanburg Expo Center, Lipp started one of the first independent MECA teams based on a classroom group.

Participation in the MECA group is voluntary for the students in Lipp’s class, though he said the inclusion of car stereo into the curriculum has proven popular—two of his three classes are filled to capacity, and the third has just five seats to spare. Lipp says MECA has been highly supportive of his efforts. Though his program is still in its early stages, Lipp’s eventual aim is to enter class-built vehicles into both SQ and SPL competitions.

“As far as MECA is concerned, our overall goal is to, at least a couple times a year, take the students and the vehicles and show them at competitions,” he said. “We’re going to have one car set up for SPL, one for SQ, and just show them the difference.”

Finding donated vehicles isn’t the hard part, said Lipp. Griffin helps him in that regard. “But specialized car stereo equipment—nobody’s going to walk in our front door and drop that on our lap.”

Lipp is looking for manufacturer sponsors to donate equipment. He’s found autumn to be a tough time of year to ask companies for contributions, with SEMA, CES and the end of the fiscal year all coming together at once.

“The school was really good about getting me a fairly decent budget, but with that I had to buy test equipment, O-scopes, tools, so forth,” he said. “It’s like most new things—there’s going to be a ramping-up period when you’re just getting things going.”

He hopes to have a class-built vehicle ready by next spring. For now, he’s planned a club a trip to a MECA event to give members a chance to see what it’s all about.

Lipp sees a lot of energy in his class. The students are enthusiastic and ready to dig into some cars and get their hands dirty. But, he added, it’s important to remember to teach the curriculum along with the fun.

“You have to initially help them along the way and make them understand that the basics we’re talking about, A) will help you pass the test, and B) have relevance in everything we’re going to do in this class,” he said. “Of course they all want to start the very first day by putting subs in, but you’ve got to throttle back and have them prove to you that they’re competent in what they’re doing before they start tearing things apart.”

Page 1 of 1